


A Good Impulse

by cosmicallybrownie



Category: Satan and Me (Webcomic)
Genre: F/M, Food mention, Human AU, One Shot, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-29 10:06:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7680253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicallybrownie/pseuds/cosmicallybrownie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natalie gets stood up for a date, but luckily Michael was walking by at just the right time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Good Impulse

It was on impulse. A good impulse, mind you, but an impulse none the less. Unless you believed in fate and that mumbo jumbo. Michael saw the woman sitting alone as he walked by the big glass windows of the restaurant and he saw her check her watch and slump further into her seat. She was stood up. It was raining outside. He went in. So yeah, call it an impulse.

He sat down across from the redhead who was just asking the waitress to wait just a little longer and loudly announced, “Sorry I’m so late, Gingersnap. Traffic is crazy right now, and with the rain, too.”

Michael forced down a smile as shock played out over her face before it mellowed into shyness. The waitress scurried off like a startled mouse and he let his lips curve into a smile.

“I’m Michael,” he began lowly, “Just go with it. Whoever didn’t bother to show up on a date with you, Gingersnap, is missing out.”

Natalie frowned as the whispers from the nearby tables abruptly stopped after he sat and how the waitress nearly tripped over herself bringing a glass of water for Michael. Everyone quietly stared, eyes flicking between the redhead and her new companion who was almost angelically attractive.

Michael watched Natalie eye him for a moment before he asked, “What?”

She lowered her voice, “You do realize that you’re really cute, right?”

For all the confidence he believed he had, the blunt question still brought color to his cheeks. This beautiful woman was calling him attractive. He didn’t expect this out of his night. Of course, he also didn’t plan to be on a pseudo date with this girl.

“Thank you. Do you believe in fate?” Michael got out, changing the subject while trying to keep his composure.

She opened her mouth to reply right as their waitress appeared in all her perky glory. “Are we ready to order?”

Natalie pointed to the first thing she saw and Michael enthusiastically ordered the same thing, making sure to specify this was going on one check. The waitress then left, leaving the newly introduced pair alone. Michael absentmindedly ran his finger over a dip in the smooth wood of the table. It was a nice place. Quiet, relaxing, nice subtle lighting. It was the kind of place you shouldn’t get stood up at.

“So what’s the story, Gingersnap?”

Her chest heaved with a sigh, “There’s no story. He was supposed to meet me here an hour ago. So here I am, no text, no call. Just you. Whether I’m lucky or not remains to be seen. “

Michael leaned forward with a smile, as if telling her a secret, “I would lean more towards lucky, I’m excellent company.”

“Oh yeah,” she countered, “who says that?”

“I do, of course! Who else would matter?” She smiled at that, and he continued, “So I’m Michael, your hero for the night, and apparently I’m really cute. What about you, Gingersnap? And you can skip the being really cute part, I can see that for myself.”

Natalie just stared at him for a moment. Of all the situations she foresaw this evening, this was not one of them. She expected Stan to walk in with a flourish and sit down and tell her how beautiful she looked. She curled her hair for this, damn it. But now she was sitting with a slightly rain soaked man who was admittedly handsome and entertaining. So on impulse, she answered.

“I’m Natalie, not Gingersnap. I’m a college student, and I was stood up.”

Michael frowned at her short answer, moving to play with a button on his shirt. She really was pretty. It was nothing short of a Greek tragedy that she was left here. The soft light above them cast gentle shadows on her face, and a sudden urge to reach over and touch her nearly overwhelmed him. Instead he unrolled his silverware and shredded the napkin.

He mumbled into the table, “You shouldn’t have been stood up.”

“We rarely get the things we deserve,” their eyes met for a moment before Natalie perked back up, “So what do you do, Michael?”

“I’m an evangelist, the whole ‘Do you have a second to learn about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’ shebang.” He dipped his head after he spoke, avoiding her gaze.

Natalie’s reply was saturated with humor, “Did you come on this date to convert me?”

Michael took it as a good sign and continued, matching the humor, “This would be a good opportunity but no, not unless you want me to. I do have Bibles in my pocket if you’re interested.”

She laughed fully at this, and Michael found himself relaxing in his seat. Most people didn’t like talking about his line of work, and it made them uncomfortable. It was nice having a long conversation, too. Most of the time he was dismissed or turned away. People just didn’t like talking about their soul in the middle of the street, but every once in a while he got one person and that made it all worth it. On this particularly rainy day however, few people had wanted to even stop to tell him no. Ducking into this restaurant may have been the best decision he’d made all day.

Michael watched Natalie play with her loosening curls before pointing subtly to a couple on the left and whispering, “Her name is…Polly, and that’s her husband Earl, with her. They’ve been married for, oh thirty years or so. She snores so loudly, but he’s never told her. Polly probably plays the cello but hasn’t in years while Earl is an avid pie baker.”

Natalie fixed Michael with a stare and a cocked eyebrow, studying the couple near them. Her lips pinched together as she puzzled over the information just given to her.

“How do you know that?” She finally asked.

He leaned back away from her with a wide grin, “Oh, I have no idea, I just like giving people stories. Humanity is so interesting. There’s such diversity in people.”

Scanning the restaurant with a smile twitching at her lips, Natalie turned around in her seat to look at a couple, “Third date, probably. He’s, ah Stephen and that’s Taylor. They had an argument over where to go and now they’re trying to overcompensate by sitting on the same side of the booth. Stephen works in the comic book store, and Taylor is going to school to be a nurse.”

Natalie looked back to Michael, a proud look on her face and found him holding back laughter. Her jaw dropped in mock offense before she turned to see the waitress standing at their table. Her face was flat as she set the dishes down. The waitress sent a withering look at Michael before she walked away. The pair was red in the face and busted into giggles as soon as she was out of earshot. Grabbing on to each other’s forearms, they steadied themselves. They wheezed and caught their breath, the muffled laughter ceasing for a brief moment until they looked at each other again and broke into a new peal of laughter.

Eventually settling down, they ate and continued to analyze the people that filtered in and out. Even after the empty plates were cleared away, they continued to sit in the dim restaurant and talk. Natalie told him about her plans for the future, and her family, and Michael talked about his love for children and his church. Their waitress came around again and politely requested that they close out the check so she could go home.

Natalie glared at Michael as he paid, but he told her, “You got stood up, it’s the least I could do.”

“Okay,” Natalie gave in, “But I’m paying for our next date.”

Michael’s head snapped up at her flippant statement and he looked at her with wide eyes. She met his gaze, tongue in cheek and watched as color crept up his face.

Hiding his face in his hands, he managed a strangled, “Next date?”

Giggling softly, she answered, “I would love to go on another date. I had a lot of fun tonight, probably more than I would have had with the other guy. So thank you. ”

Reaching over, Natalie gently pulled his hands away from his face. A deep red still stained his cheeks but a wide smile played on his face. He looked at her, and suddenly Michael didn’t know what to do with his hands. He went back to shredding his napkin.

Glancing at her watch, Natalie begrudgingly stood up, and Michael followed, leaving a generous tip on the table. Exiting the restaurant they stepped into the muggy streets, the air thick from the rain earlier. The lights from the city reflected up from the puddles of dirty rainwater and oil. The moon was hidden behind the clouds that were heavy with rain, but the oppressive cloud cover did nothing to dampen the high Michael was relishing in. He kept stealing glances over at the woman next to him, contentment sitting prettily on her face. A few strands of her bangs were stuck to her forehead from the humidity and there was a stain on her sleeve from laughing so hard she choked on her lemonade, but she was the closest thing to perfection he had ever seen.

When they reached her apartment, Michael stopped and looked at her before asking, “Do you have any other dates set up with this guy?” he heaved out an exaggerated sigh, “Because if I have to, I guess I can be there.”

For what felt like the hundredth that night, Natalie laughed, “I would much rather go on a date with you anyway. Maybe I could even come to your church one Sunday.”

Michael felt his breath catch in his throat, and he couldn’t form words. His hands twitched at his sides and he shifted his weight from foot to foot. He looked away from her and thanked the cloudy night for obscuring the blush he knew danced across his face. She was interesting in his interests, and that was a thrilling first. The silence dragged on a moment too long, and Michael nodded enthusiastically.

“We – I, we would be so happy to have you.” He finally got out.

Natalie smiled at him and nodded before opening the door to her apartment building. She scribbled her number down on the back of a receipt Michael found in his pocket and passed it to him. Looking at him, she froze when their eyes locked for a beat. He really was handsome, and perfectly sweet with the right amount of humor. She was looking forward to seeing him again and he hadn’t even left yet. She noticed the right side of his collar was slightly popped up and moved to fix it. Her fingers grazed his jaw when she did so and heat seared through his skin where she brushed him. Natalie pulled her hand back like the fire he felt burnt her too. She looked to his fixed collar and back at him, afraid to break the moment.

Natalie’s lips parted and Michael stuttered out a strained, “Goodnight!”

He stepped back and nodded before walking away from her, turning to look over his shoulder as she walked into the building. A goofy smile blossomed on his face watching her go, and he walked home in high spirits. Maybe fate was real. Or maybe that was just a really _really_ good impulse.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> This fic and all others can be found on my tumblr account under my writing tag  
> cosmicallybrownie.tumblr.com/tagged/hot-off-the-presses


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